Social entrepreneurship is an often encountered type of activity that has social and commercial importance. So, what are the criteria of social entrepreneurship that provide innovative solutions to the problems in social life and raise awareness of them? Is there any successful social enterprise in Turkey?

Definition of Social Entrepreneurship

It seems to have very different definitions of social entrepreneurship, but overall, it’s the name given to entrepreneurial activities that center on transforming social problems and issues. The activities can be conducted in various sectors on various scales. The outstanding mission in social entrepreneurship is using the income obtained primarily for the determined social and societal goals. In this context, a social entrepreneur is an individual who produces commercial activities that positively impact society, country, or the world and makes a difference by raising awareness of social issues.

What Are the Criteria to Own a Social Enterprise? 

There are 3 main criteria for entrepreneurship to be called “social entrepreneurship”. Social enterprises that meet these criteria operate in many areas such as health, technology, special education, food&beverage, and culture. These criteria are:

• The primary goal in the enterprise is creating social impact,
• Revenue earning is through trade,
• Use of income for set goals.

2 Successful Examples of Social Entrepreneurship in Turkey

There are many successful and inspiring social enterprises in Turkey, as in the rest of the world. We will explain two of these enterprises:

1) Kodluyoruz

Nowadays, software and coding are among the brightest and most open to development concerns. In this sense, Kodluyoruz is founded in 2016 by Emre Sarbak, Gülcan Yayla ve Aykut İbrişim to spread literacy in coding and train software developers.

Kodluyoruz focuses on especially women’s employment and organizes free Bootcamps with the participation of outstanding names in the sector. It is an enterprise that achieved a first in Turkey by ensuring more than 800 young people’s employment.

Young people between the ages of 20-29 learn many coding languages, such as Python, Java, Kotlin, and many more, within Kodluyoruz. They are trained on the technical knowledge lacking in the sector and some soft talents. These young people join Kodluyoruz with interviews and benefit from job and internship opportunities.

2) Otsimo

Otsimo is a social enterprise that was founded for children with special needs, autism, and Down syndrome and has more than 100K users from Turkey and 90 more countries. Otsimo, a free app that is available for children with special needs and their families, was founded in 2016 by Sercan Değirmenci and Zafer Elçik.

Otsimo meets its users by using the ABA™ (Applied Behaviour Analysis) technique that is used in the treatment of the issues based on communication, motor skills, and conduct disorder. Otsimo has offices both in Turkey and San Francisco. Its core mission is to ensure the direct participation of parents in their children’s special education processes. Otsimo serves in Turkey with the “İçimdeki Hazine” app, which means the treasure inside me and is available for free on Appstore or Google PlayStore.

Sosyal girişimler, yerel ve küresel ölçekte fark yaratırken, iş dünyasının sosyal gelişimine açık alanlarda en büyük etki sahibidir. Sosyal girişimler, kar marjı olmaksızın kültürel fayda sağlamak için kurulur. Bu bağlamda BTM, şirketlere yeni bir iş fikri ile ticarileşme adımlarında çeşitli hizmetler sunan ve büyüme süreçlerinde onlara destek olan bir platformdur. Bu blog yazımızda sosyal girişimciliğin tanımı, kapsamı ve Türkiye’de başarılı bir şekilde uygulanmasının iki örneğinden bahsettik. Daha fazla bilgi için diğer BTM içeriklerine göz atmayı unutmayın !